S/V WAHOO: Pawns of the Weather gods

Spotted Eagle Ray at South Water Caye.

Would you people to the North of us quit with these cold fronts- it’s April, nearly May, after all!!

More birthday fun, at Hatchet Caye with SV Wanderlust( Inge, Hans & friend)

King Cake for Le Roi

I know I shouldn’t complain as y’all are doing the freezing, we’re just doing the hiding and rolling. I’m trying to remember when it was that Stormy Stickle, yes the real name of Chris Parker’s assistant weatherman, told us this coming front was the last of the fronts for this year. I think that was the one that arrived around Roy’s birthday or Mardi Gras for our fellow New Orleanians. I heard it was a cold, cold Fat Tuesday for y’all and for us; we were hunkered down in Sapodilla Lagoon where life at the pool was tough baby, just tough. Made a King Cake to celebrate Roy and Mardi Gras and all the cruisers hung out in their dinghies for an evening raft up.

Waiting out the front - dinghy raft up in Sapodilla Lagoon

Sailing!

Since then the fronts have continued with depressing regularity. They bring high winds that start out N-NE then proceed to clock over a period of days/ weeks ( seems forever?!). The worst is when the high winds come from the West. Belize and its cayes run N-S and the lee is the Western side with lots of open water between them and the mainland. That means it’s time to sail into a hidey hole. That generally has us heading to Placencia Town with its grocery stores, many restaurants and Yoli’s Bar or Sapodilla Lagoon with its marina for fuel and water and splendid pool and restaurant. Both of these require a sail back to mainland Belize from the outer cayes. But there are a few mangrove cayes closer to the reef that offer some protection and a quicker return to the fun of sailing and snorkeling.

Each morning everyone makes sure to check in with the Northwest Caribbean Net to find out where their friends are heading. The Northwest Caribbean Net meets daily during the height of the sailing season, Nov-June, on the Single Side Band radio. The Net Controller cycles through the cruisers who volunteer and each morning at 8am we get a check for vessels in distress or underway, they give the weather, then allow individual cruisers to check in with their whereabouts, local weather and any questions, statements or other transmissions they have. It’s a great service, especially for boats in need of assistance, and overall lots of fun. It covers Mexico up to Isla Mujeres, Belize and the Bay Islands of Honduras. Last year I volunteered but this year we’re having radio problems so...

Porpoises playing with Wahoo

From March 5th on we had day after day of high North winds and everyone stayed in port waiting for the winds to change. It must have been boredom and a surfeit of Tutti-Frutte gelato that resurrected the Organizer in me. I dragged Roy to a meeting with Lisa and Monique, the two women who run Fragments of Hope. This organization’s purpose is coral restoration on the Belize reefs and cayes. I, and several friends, spent 3 weeks drumming up interest through announcements on the morning Net, announcements on various cruisers’ Facebook pages, leaflets throughout Placencia and generally making a nuisance every time we gathered for Sundowners at happy hours. Attending a March 21 Seminar seemed a good way to profitably pass the time. Ha, March 19th dawned blue, bright and calm with a forecast of fair winds for days to come. Yep, “they scattered like birds that before the wild hurricanes fly.” I was left with a twisted stomach and fear of meeting Lisa or Monique on the sidewalk (only one) of Placencia. But amazingly some boats sailed back in, others stayed, the Seminar was full and a good time was had by all. As for those guys who had made it to the Atolls or the Bay Islands-Maybe next year someone else will arrange something for them- but Not Me!

Fragments of Hope

Staghorn and elkhorn corals from FOH out-plantings

We learned about the methods of using fragments of living coral, much as a gardener uses plant cuttings to help make a dying reef a little healthier. They have discovered the types of coral that respond best. This will never replace all that is being loss but it offers a smidgen of hope. So many causes of reef disease, bleaching and dying it’s good to see something that is positive. In addition, we had the crocodile lady tell about the crocs in Belize. We learned that the crocs here are not the man-eating variety and just as we all breathed a sigh of relief she added: “ best to swim between 8am and 4pm, no sense in tempting them”. Ok then, so no more cocktail hour swims for me!

Caye Caulker Main Street

Pelican

We’ve just spent a week at Caye Caulker. The Northern cayes of Caye Caulker and Ambergis Caye, are very different from the Southern Cayes where we spend most of our time. They are dizzyingly busy as they are major tourist destinations. I will sound like an old timer when I say they are so different from what they were when I came as a young mother and we stayed in whatever house Buffy and Walter had for the summer. Boy, those were the days- the coral was brighter, the fish more abundant...see what I mean, an old timer!

The pelicans know its feeding time at Iguana Reef Resosrt, Caye Caulker

Our new Mantus anchor has made us more ready to trust the few hidey holes located in mangrove cayes and not make a sail to Placencia or Sapodilla when the weather turns rough.That gives us more time out and about. We’ve been spending a lot of time bouncing between Southwater Caye or hiding in Tobacco Range. What’s the difference? A whole world- Southwater Caye, named for its freshwater well discovered eons ago by pirates, is a beautiful coconut palm tree coral Caye with its feet on the reef. Stunningly beautiful with its many shades of blue and turquoise waters where the snorkeling is still decent and porpoises play around anchored boats. Tobacco Range is a mangrove caye with an inner lagoon circled by mangroves. This entire area is part of the South Water Caye Marine Preserve, the largest of Belize's Marine Preserves covering 117, 875 acres. From small Carrie Bow Caye with its Smithsonian Reserch Facility, North five miles to Tobacco Caye, also on the reef, it includes 2 mangrove cayes to the West, Tobacco Range, and Twin Cayes. Both of those can be used as hidey holes when the North wind blows.

Of course its a party at Yoli's Bar when all the cruising boats end up in Placencia!